Sweatshops and Our Tax Dollars

The tragedies in Bangladesh — a killer fire in November 2012 and a terrible building collapse in April this year — have put conditions in the global garment industry in the spotlight. Your report on United States government procurement practices shows that the federal government is no better than the retail giants — they all depend on ineffective and outmoded means of enforcing labor and safety standards.

There is another way, as pioneered in the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. It is legally binding on signatories and includes the workers’ voice in safety arrangements. Over a hundred retailers and brands have joined. The United States government could require procurement from companies that have signed the accord, but a requirement to do so was excluded from the recently passed defense authorization act.

The principles for procurement should be supply chain transparency; adoption and enforcement of labor standards in procurement and licensing; and ensuring these standards along the supply chain of retail stores on our military bases.

Having been to a number of clothing factories in the Dominican Republic, I don’t think that it should have been included in your list of countries with “harsh working conditions.” The factories I’ve seen there are clean, well lighted and hospitable.

Claims that wages are unfair are also exaggerated. People are clamoring to work in the factories rather than scrape by in the non-export economy. Sweatshops make for good headlines, but in the Dominican Republic, the reality is far better than the perception.

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Credit
David Suter

ROD SULLIVAN Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 23, 2013

The writer is an associate professor at Florida Coastal School of Law.

To the Editor:

The Made in the USA Foundation has been prodding the United States government to buy American-made products for more than 20 years. It is not only the Defense Department that is buying imports. The Smithsonian Institution is selling inferior imported articles at its gift stores, shops at national parks are selling sweatshirts and T-shirts made in Bangladesh and China, and other agencies ignore American producers.

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The United States government should set the example for how high-quality American-made products can be made and sold at reasonable prices.

Contrary to the assertion in the article that the government is not required to buy American, the Made in the USA Foundation contends that the Buy American Act requires it and that common sense demands that the government lead the way to rebuilding American manufacturing.

We recently traveled to Dhaka, Bangladesh, to meet with survivors of the Rana Plaza factory collapse and their families. Your article echoes what they told us. They emphasized the need for greater financial compensation for their suffering. And they warned that unsafe conditions in garment factories could lead to more tragedies.

Americans regularly buy apparel made in Bangladesh. Responsible shopping here can create solidarity with workers there. Consumers can support retailers and brands that have joined the Accord on Fire and Building Safety to improve Bangladesh’s garment factories.

Workers who make the clothes Americans buy and wear cannot just be viewed as costs to control. That race to the bottom could only result in more lost lives. All of us must help minimize the human casualties of our global economy and ensure that the dignity of working people doesn’t end up on the clearance rack.